Sites I like
Recovery
It's not often a tv show makes me cry (well, when it's not that time of the month when I cry at everything), but Recovery last night on BBC1 was really emotionally draining to watch. There needs to be more challenging programming like this made in the UK, rather than televised idiots begging and 'dancing' wearing sequins and ice skates as we now have. However, if all telly was good, what would Harry Hill and Charlie Brooker take the piss out of?
Posted on February 26, 2007
Dear Daily Telegraph
"Sir - Bryony Gordon (Notebook, February 15) says it would be a shame if 'years of feminism were undone by rising interest rates', as young women will now probably have to marry in order to have a home. In fact, feminism is partly to blame. One of the factors in rising house prices is the banks' capitulation to feminists who demanded they include the wife's income when assessing how much a couple could afford. When buyers were able to pay more for a limited housing stock, sellers raised their prices. Would it be so tragic if women could have their own home only if they had a husband? Rhoda Koenig, London NW3."
Aside from everything else that is so very very wrong about this letter and possibly the article it refers to, it does leave me wondering just how I managed to obtain a joint mortgage when I have no husband. How very peculiar.
Posted on February 16, 2007 | Comments (1)
My mobile life
I can't remember exactly when I first decided to buy a mobile phone, but it was probably some time in 1999. I bought a two year package from John Lewis (of all places) that included an Ericsson T18 with line rental and inclusive calls/SMS messaging from one2one, but no contract. All the line rental paid for up front and the freedom to change networks at the end. It must have been a good deal as they had stopped doing these packages by the time I decided that the Ericsson, with it's "my first phone" looks and silly blinky light, needed to be replaced. However, by this point I had also realised why one2one was sometimes referred to as one2none, so I switched to Orange pay as you go and got a nice 'n' cheap Nokia 3210 with a new number. In 2002, work gave me a Nokia 6210 for no apparent reason, as I didn't need a mobile phone to do the job, but I accepted and used my own SIM as it was a far better phone than the 3210. Time passed... phones got better. What I wanted now was one with a camera.
For Christmas 2004, Topper gave me a Nokia 3220, and a few months later I managed to lay my hands on the attachment that allowed me to write messages in the air. That was the only reason I wanted the phone - not for the disco lights that flashed when it rang. Honestly, I was too enthralled by the idea of 'wave messaging' that I hadn't even noticed that it came with other flashy lights. Other people noticed though and I soon found out how to switch them off, unlike all the other people who had the same phone as me (who were probably all under the age of 15). Much as I liked the idea of lights and cameras, I still really only used my phone for sending text messages and so remained on a pay as you go tariff. More new phones were released all the time but were too expensive unless you took out a contract and I couldn't justify all that line rental when I hardly ever made a call. However, last year marked a mobile turning point for me. I was sucked in by the advertising for the Nokia 7370 and, as it was not available on pay as you go, finally took out a contract. Orange provided a cheap one with a bunch of inclusive texts so all was good... apart from the phone itself, as it happens. Still, a world of upgrade options await me this time round.
So, my total is five phones in (roughly) seven years. How many mobile phones have you had?
Posted on February 13, 2007 | Comments (4)
Don't blame the victim
The Sydney Morning Herald published an interesting opinion piece by Emily Maguire on Saturday, about women and rape. After having watched Channel 4's recent intelligent and challenging drama, Consent, I am more aware than ever that so-called date rape is almost impossible to prove as it's merely one person's word against another's and a jury cannot convict if there is any doubt. However, reading this article brought home a couple of important points about rape in general...
1. "The huge misconception here is that rape is just a rougher form of sex. It isn't. Rape is to sex what being beaten unconscious is to peacefully falling asleep. It is an act of violence visited upon a person's body and it is as traumatic for a sexually active woman as it is for a virginal one or a man."
2. "If a woman drinks to excess then falls over in the street, loses her wallet and vomits all over herself, she has only herself to blame. But rape is not a consequence of getting drunk. It's a consequence of a man deciding to rape someone."
I recommend you read the full article so that you can place these comments in the correct context. I also hope the BBC is prepared for the upset their new show The Verdict will cause amongst rape victims, when its 'celebrity' jury (with former MP turned perjurer, Jeffrey Archer, and Stan Collymore, the former footballer involved in well-publicised domestic violence), reaches a decision next week in their sensationalist fictional case. I wonder what the motives of the programme-makers were for this show? "How can we be more offensive than Big Brother and still claim it's in the public interest", perhaps?
Posted on February 08, 2007
Be safe and considerate
When sat on public transport, try not to have the sort of expression on your face that says "I shouldn't have had that massive latte as I really really really need a wee now". Even if you need the loo so badly that you are almost considering using the (inevitably) piss drenched toilet on the evening train. You don't need to smile all the time, just try to look calm and peaceful - as if you are contemplating greater things in life than bladder control - and less like you are extremely cross that your body is punishing you for spending money in Starbucks. You never know, one of the other passengers might be observing you and drawing a lovely portrait in their notebook.
One very nice man somewhere in SE London/Kent now has a memento of my "I need a wee" face. Great.
Posted on February 06, 2007 | Comments (1)
Charlie Brooker goes all PC on us
What better way to start the week than with a cleverly-worded rant from the rather splendid Charlie Brooker. Today, he informs us that he hates Macs, in a splendid column that even manages to fit in an attack on ignorant sub-editors and a reference to a previous article in the comments thread. I'd add my own, but what would be the point of saying 'I heart Charlie' over there, when I can do it here and simultaneoulsy resurrect my dying blog into the bargain? For those time-poor folks who can't read the whole thing, I'll even include a quote...
"PCs are the ramshackle computers of the people. You can build your own from scratch, then customise it into oblivion. Sometimes you have to slap it to make it work properly, just like the Tardis (Doctor Who, incidentally, would definitely use a PC). PCs have charm; Macs ooze pretension. When I sit down to use a Mac, the first thing I think is, "I hate Macs", and then I think, "Why has this rubbish aspirational ornament only got one mouse button?" Losing that second mouse button feels like losing a limb. If the ads were really honest, Webb would be standing there with one arm, struggling to open a packet of peanuts while Mitchell effortlessly tore his apart with both hands. But then, if the ads were really honest, Webb would be dressed in unbelievably po-faced avant-garde clothing with a gigantic glowing apple on his back."
Posted on February 05, 2007 | Comments (1)